![\"Bold](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bold_city_wings_area_t850.jpg\" "\\"Bold")
<\/p>\nBold City Wings is converting a closed San Marco retail store into a restaurant at 2016 Hendricks Ave., next to Posting House.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville native Rhonda Lunsford said \u00a0by email that she expects to open March 1, bringing the evolving family business home for a fourth generation in co-ownership with her son, Gilbert Lunsford Jr., and her cousin, Archie Williams.<\/p>\n
The city issued a permit Jan. 16 for AEC Integrated of Jacksonville to renovate the 1,384-square-foot space at a project cost of $108,000. In her email, Lunsford said the business investment so far is $250,000.<\/p>\n
The site is across Hendricks Avenue from the Publix-anchored San Marco East shopping center. The renovation will include creating kitchen space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
KBY Inspection & Plan Review LLC of Jacksonville provided plan review.<\/p>\n
Evoco Enterprises LLC is the landlord.<\/p>\n
\u201cSan Marco was chosen because it\u2019s an absolute dream location in the heart of everything lively (foot traffic) and is the ultimate example of a close knit community,\u201d Lunsford wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoutique shops, neighborhood vibes and old school Jacksonville,\u201d she added, noting the architecture, history, new Publix and apartments and access to Downtown.<\/p>\n
The Bold Wings space previously was Syrene, a boutique offering home decor and gifts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bold City Wings is across the street from the Publix-anchored San Marco East shopping center.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s us again\u201d<\/p>\n
Bold City Wings posted Jan. 12 on Facebook that it was \u201ccoming soon\u201d to the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey wing lovers! It\u2019s us again. We would like to present to you Bold City Wings, the best wings in Jacksonville FL.,\u201d the post says.<\/p>\n
The post said that Bold City Wings was formerly known in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area as My Place wings. The Facebook post refers to My Place Wing House.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince our short hiatus, we\u2019ve rebranded and relocated back to our roots where it all started here in The Bold New City of the South,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n
The post includes that it is \u201cbringing those tasty sweet and tangy, homemade southern fried and even bringing that DC mumbo sauce down to Jacksonville.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFood has always been more than business in our family,\u201d Lunsford said in the email.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s how we\u2019ve served our community for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bold_City_Wings_sign_before_and_after_t850.jpg\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\n
The signage for Bold City Wings goes up in San Marco.<\/p>\n
Starting in the \u201840s<\/p>\n
Lunsford said her grandfather and his three brothers, all butchers, moved to Jacksonville in the 1940s from Orangeburg, South Carolina.<\/p>\n
She said her grandfather, the Rev. Orion Johnson, and his brother, Fred Johnson, owned a grocery store in Durkeeville and then Eastside where they worked as butchers, known for their quality cuts of meat and customer and community service.<\/p>\n
The four brothers, including George and \u00a0Archie, worked for grocers around the city, she said.<\/p>\n
In 1986, the next generation, led by her father, Orion Johnson Jr., opened a corner store in Durkeeville where he sold seafood on the weekends.<\/p>\n
Lunsford said she was brought into the business in 1997 as co-owner of Seafood Wings & Things in the Gateway Shopping Center, now known as Gateway Town Center.<\/p>\n
A Jacksonville native, Lunsford, formerly Rhonda Johnson, says she graduated from Stanton College Preparatory School in 1989 and left Jacksonville to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
She returned to Jacksonville in 1993, opened Seafood Wings & Things in 1997 and returned to D.C. in 1999.<\/p>\n
Her son, Lunsford Jr., was born in Jacksonville and at the age of 4 returned with her to D.C. in 1999.<\/p>\n
In 2007, she took the My Place brand to the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area where she and her husband opened a sports bar and grill and then expanded the wing shop brand.<\/p>\n
In 2021, she handed the legacy to her son, who continued the My Place brand in downtown D.C.<\/p>\n
Williams, a co-owner of \u00a0Bold City Wings, is a senior software developer at VyStar Credit Union. His grandfather was Archie Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, in 2026, that journey comes home full circle,\u201d Lunsford said.<\/p>\n
Williams is a senior software developer at VyStar Credit Union. His grandfather, Archie Johnson, was one of four brothers who relocated from South Carolina.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Bold City Wings in San Marco plans to open in March.<\/p>\n
Photo by Monty Zickuhr<\/p>\n
\u00a0The menu<\/p>\n
Lunsford said Bold City Wings will offer three choices \u2013 grilled, Southern-fried breaded in flour or regular fried with no flour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call that naked then tossed in your favorite sauce,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said the wings will be fresh, marinated overnight and cooked to order.<\/p>\n
Lunsford said they will be \u201ceverything a wing should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe clean our wings, season our wings and prepare them fresh to order,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lunsford said sauces are housemade.<\/p>\n
Sides include fried corn on the cobb and steamed broccoli. Drinks include freshly squeezed lemonade.<\/p>\n
She said the owners will apply for a beer license.<\/p>\n
Lunsford said Bold City Wings will offer dine-in, takeout and delivery. There will be seating inside and on a patio.<\/p>\n
Bold City Wings will open at 11 a.m. daily and closed when sold out of the day\u2019s prepped items, she said.<\/p>\n
Lunsford said the shop will be open later on Fridays and Saturdays but she hasn\u2019t determined the hours.<\/p>\n
The restaurant website is under construction and the Google page is under review.<\/p>\n
Why here<\/p>\n
Lunsford said the reason she is opening here is she grew up in Jacksonville and recalls that \u201cthe food used to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have gotten away from preparing food the right way,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone (is) cutting corners or they (are) simply ignoring old recipes, no one is cooking with herbs and spices anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lunsford said Bold City Wings represents the evolution of four generations of food service, \u201crooted in tradition, shaped by experience and designed for today\u2019s customer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe combine old-school attention to quality with modern systems, bold flavors and a neighborhood mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said it will be a continuation of a family legacy, one order at a time.<\/p>\n
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